RE: guardianship

[Guest guest]

The following is a cut and paste from a post last September on a Child

Neuro board I frequent. If anyone has any questions regarding the

information here, I can try and contact the author for answers.

Please keep in mind that I was not the author of this post. Nor, did I

attend the presentation mentioned. I just thought it contained some

very important information.

Bec

************************************

I attended Epilepsy Camp this past weekend. YAAAY!!! It was fun!!! But I

also got a chance to hear a presentation on how to plan for your

disabled dependent's future, which is a vexing topic.

Here is a cut-and-paste of an email I sent to someone else on what I

heard. It was an eye-opener, and I hope you'll find it useful.

There are a number of ways to leave assets for disabled dependent. Most

of them are not good options.

1) Will $$ and assets directly to dependent. Not a good idea. Assets of

over $2,000 will disqualify dependent for Medicare and (I think) SSI IF

THEY ARE IN DEPENDENT'S NAME.

2) Leave $$ to a relative. Also not a good idea, relative may not handle

funds and take care of dependent as you would want.

3) Family trust. Not a good idea. This is a public document w/ different

tax consequences.

4) Special Needs Trust. This is the BEST idea. It creates a separate tax

entity, unlinked to dependent's or other family memeber's SSN.

According to presentation, there are a bunch of things that need to be

done, of which writing a will and creating a Special Needs Trust

represent only about 20% of planning. Some of the things include (I

can't remember them all, my notes are at home):

1) CREATE A LETTER OF INTENT. This letter spells out your first, second,

third, and fourth choices for things like where you want you dependent

to live, what kinds of medical and support services will be required,

what religion thay participate in etc. I have a form at home w/ all the

questions that need to be answered. This letter has a lot of LEGAL

WEIGHT. It may be written in any format, as long as it is signed and

dated by the parent.

2) WRITE A WILL WHICH SPECIFICALLY DISINHERITS THE DISABLED DEPENDENT.

Sounds cruel, but this is the best way to protect their benefits.

3) CREATE A LIVING SPECIAL NEEDS TRUST. This trust is a private

agreement with its own tax number. It can recieve funds such as cash

gifts, assets such as homes, stocks, and bonds. It can be the

beneficiary of 401K plans etc. It should have it's own checking account

and/or credit card, AND it shuld be used to pay for expenses WHILE THE

PARENT IS ALIVE. IF expense records are kept, this establishes a paper

trail of HOW MONEY IS TO BE SPENT IN THE FUTURE.

4) SELECT (A) TRUSTEE(S) AND (AN) ADVOCATE(S). The trustee(s) have the

SOLE DISCRETIONARY POWER OF HOW TO MANAGE THE TRUST AND SPEND THE MONEY.

IF there are no family members or friends who are up to this task, there

are both professional and charitable oragnizations who can manage the

trust.

The ADVOCATE is the person who looks after the disabled dependent on a

day to day (if necessary) basis. The trustee(s) and advocate(s) may or

may not be the same person(s).

5) APPLY FOR ALL POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT BENEFITS.

6) DECIDE HOW THE TRUST IS TO BE DISBURSED AT END OF DEPENDENT'S LIFE.

(May go to surviving siblings or other family members or friends,

charities, other trusts etc.)

I know I left a lot out. This is just a gloss. But there is a nationwide

non-profit organization that gave this presentation, so I'm sure she

could get this info and help in her state.

Re: guardianship

I recieved the same advice about separating out the guardianship from

the

trustee.

I actually have co-guardians; my son has two older half sisters who are

both

adults, one who just happens to be an attorney.

For now, my attorney, not the attorney sister, is the trustee, only

because I

can't figure out what next to do. My son's father, unfortunatley, is

not

capable of handling the business of physicians, IEPs, bills, etc. I am

now

looking into obtaining an autism advocate who can oversee everything,

should

something happen to me. My daughter and step-daughter would need some

support

and guidance nearly as much as my son would. One of my daughters has

even

begun going to IEP meetings with me.

If anyone knows of any printed information which gives some advice on

wills

and what to do in the event that something happens to a parent/guardian

of a

disabled child, I'd appreciate it.

Hope this helps!

Good luck and God speed.

Leah

On Wed, 1 Jan 2003 07:09:30 -0600 Kim Maag

wrote:

> My husband's impending military activation is

> forcing us to do something that we have been

> putting off--writing our

> wills.  I am interested in knowing how

> others have handled the issue of

> guardianship of their children.  We don't

> want our three boys to be

> separated (should both my husband and I die)

> but also realize how difficult it

> is to care for all three of them.  What

> have others done?  We are

> developing trusts for all three of them as

> well; it has been suggested that

> their guardian(s) not be the trustees. 

> Any information or experience that

> you have with this?  Thanks for any advice

> you can give.  Happy New

> Year!

>

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